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May 21: Day of the Historic Flights!
Two historic flights across the Atlantic ocean finished on May 21. It must be a good time of year to fly!
May 21, 1927
Charles Lindbergh completed the first airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. He left from New York, USA and landed in Paris, France crossing the entire ocean without stopping. His flight took 33 1/2 hours. Another word for a flight across the Atlantic Ocean is a "transatlantic flight".
Linbergh was heavily involved in the world of aviation. He was on the board of directors for Pan-American World Airways. Charles also did lots of work on charting commercial airline flights with the help of his wife Anne Morrow. He helped Henry Ford design planes during WWII and was a test pilot for United Aircraft. And he also wrote a few books on aviation, one of which (The Spirit of St. Louis) won the Pulitzer Prize.
May 21, 1932
Five years later, Amelia Earhart decided to prove that girls can do whatever boys can. She completed her flight across the Atlantic Ocean travelling from Newfoundland, Canada to Derry, North Ireland making her the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. For her achievement, she became the first women to be recognized by the United States of Government for exceptional aviation achievement with the with the Distinguished Flying Cross.
She also set many other aviation records such as being the first person to fly solo from the United States Mainland to Hawaii. In 1937 she set out on a journy with the navigator Fred Noonan to become the first perspm tp corcumnavigate the globe. They had completed about three-quarters of their journey before mysteriously disappearing. There are many theories about what happened to Amelia Earhart, however, many searches have failed to turn up conclusive evidence.
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National Aviation Day Activities |
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National Aviation Day Activities |
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National Aviation Day Activities |